The Grounding Technique: How to Stop a Panic Attack

The Grounding Technique

Have you ever heard of the grounding technique? Chances are, if you suffer from anxiety, someone has told you about it. Whether it be a psychologist, a family member or a friend.

I personally was told about it by a few people but never really took it seriously. I always thought “oh yeah, just another ‘quick fix’ that doesn’t actually work” so I never bothered to try it until I called my psychologist one day in the middle of a melt down. She asked me to point out five things I could see. At first I was like what on earth? But I went along with it. I briefly remember my answers being a towel, a desk, my cat, my bag and a pen. The next thing I knew, my breathing had slowed down. I was shocked. She then continued to ask me, what are four things you feel, three things you hear, two things you smell, and one thing you taste.

By the end of it, I was breathing normally, I had stopped crying and I felt relaxed. I asked her how it worked. She said that by making our mind focus on something else, we unknowingly take it out of fight or flight mode and therefore relax ourselves.

The Steps

The steps are pretty self explanatory. They are as follows:

Point out FIVE (5) things that you can see

Point out FOUR (4) things you feel

Point out THREE (3) things you hear

Point out TWO (2) things you smell

Point out ONE (1) thing you taste

I’m curious to know, have you tried this technique before? Or are there any techniques that work for you? Please let me know in the comments!